EDISON, N.J. - The Marist men's tennis team was selected to finish first in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll. Last season, Marist went undefeated in conference play for the third straight year before falling to Fairfield in the championship match. Overall, the Red Foxes have won 10 of the past 15 MAAC Championships.

"It is exciting to be selected first in the polls, but unfortunately, polls do not win MAAC Championships," senior and co-captain Billy Bishop (Houston, Texas) said. "It is on us as a team to go out each day and prove these predictions true at the end of the year."

The Red Foxes finished with 49 total points, nine ahead of second-place Fairfield. Maris is led by 15th-year head coach and 2012 MAAC Coach of the Year Tim Smith, return the two-time MAAC Player of the Year in junior Lorenzo Rossi (Lugano, Switzerland), as well as the 2012 MAAC Rookie of the Year Joseph Dube (Livonia, Mich.), and All-MAAC First Team performers Dalen Klassen (St. Louis, Mo.) and Will Reznek (Toronto, Canada).

The 2013 MAAC Men's and Women's Tennis Championships will take place at Mercer County Park in West Windsor, New Jersey from April 27-28.

Marist is 3-1 in dual matches this year and has received exceptional play from several players. Dube is sporting a 17-2 overall singles' record, including a perfect 6-0 this spring. Klassen is 16-5 in singles' play as well while senior Joris Van Eck (Ospel, The Netherlands) is 13-6. The Red Foxes do not return to the court until final weekend of February for a dual match at Army on Feb. 24. First serve is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.

"I'm always excited when our league coaches select us to finish first," Smith said. "However, I will be much more excited if these seedings hold true at the end of the year."